"It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s superwoman!” I grew up believing that superheroes were real. After all, I have lived with one my whole life - my mom! Climbing trees, conquering snow forts, and swinging from vines were all part of my childhood. "Turning obstacles into opportunities" is the remarkable model of life that has inundated my being, since I was a baby. I grew up an only child, Asian/White, in a liberal part of Middletown, New York. I am a daughter of a man who is a Federal Agent with the DEA, whom I do not know. We were divorced and abandoned when I was less than two years old, but that never stopped my mom from being superwoman and the most complete and astonishing role model that any young woman could ask for; my mom is a true hero.

I grew up thinking that all moms were smooth and completely hairless since my mom doesn’t have a coif of hair. Alopecia Universalis took all of the hair over my mom’s entire body, when she was only twenty years old, the same age as I am now. My mom, Jodi Pliszka, M.S. is the winner of the Enterprising Woman of the Year Award, the world's leading SOLUTIONOLOGIST®, celebrated host on Ripley's Believe It or Not Radio's: Weird Medical Maladies, Inventor of HEADLINE IT! ®, an Award Winning Author, Clinical Therapist, and President/ CEO. My mom was a Top Finalist on ABC's American Inventor TV Show, she has been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, Lifetime TV'S Health Corner, NBC, FOX, CBS, ABC news and more. I have been more fortunate than any of my peers, for I have learned compassion, perseverance, dedication, equality, kindness, and so much more, from watching my mom every day of her life. I have been on national TV shows with my mom, and I have learned respect in a way that most people can never duplicate.

My mom has her Master’s Degree in Child Psychology and her Ph.D. work in Health Psychology. She did not believe in spanking as a form of punishment. We would cuddle in bed and read countless books each night before bed. If I didn’t complete a task, the repercussion of my actions was to have a book removed from my pile. Due to this mutual respect, the bond that we share is unparalleled to any other. My mother’s philanthropy has provided me with affection, forbearance, graciousness, and patience that I thirst for everyone to experience.

We moved to Muskego, Wisconsin when I was only four years old. As I approached second grade, I quickly learned that my distinctive appearance, including my Asian-like almond eyes, created controversy with my classmates. Utilizing my words to help others understand our differences, I was able to develop into an educator at a very tender age. I used my words to help curtail the bullying of others, which helped me assume the form of ‘peace-keeper’ for my peers. I started a chat room to help others understand how to stop being bullied and I still receive emails and correspondence from many students that are in dire need of my peer counseling. It is so profitable having a mom that is your best friend and a trained therapist. I also help with groups that my mom hosts, within the Alopecia community. I enjoy sharing and helping support the different families and children that have this autoimmune disorder, as well. I feel very thankful that my mom has taught me that through every obstacle that we will encounter in our path, there is an opportunity that follows. If everyone would see how there are opportunities in your challenges, the world would be a better place.

So, happy birthday to my miraculous mom - you will always be my superhero!